The Need for Training on Team and Meeting Management to Enhance Capacity for Team Science Kady Nearing, Senior Evaluator The Evaluation Center Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute

Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute Charge: to transform research to accelerate the pace of discovery and the application of new knowledge to improve clinical and community-based practice Team science: thought to be an important mechanism to promote cutting edge research and foster innovation Evaluation Context Evaluation Context

Serendipitous discoveries New insights (new interpretations) of existing data Innovative approaches (new or novel applications) Findings that advance a field/discipline Grants, publications, patents Positive attitude toward to collaboration Anticipated Outcomes Anticipated Outcomes

How do aspects of team structure and functioning relate to anticipated outcomes? Evaluation Question Evaluation Question

Two-stage approach: 1.Administration of survey that explored different dimensions of team science Translational reach Disciplinarity Safety 2.Focus groups with research teams to explore their unique experiences in greater depth Methods Methods

An inverse relationship was found between perceived productivity and team size: As the # of team members increased, perceptions re: meeting productivity decreased (r(17)=-.61, p=.005) Perceptions of productivity (overall) tended to decrease as the teams grew in size ( r(17)=.54, p=.016) Results: Survey Data Results: Survey Data

Results: Focus Groups Results: Focus Groups Needs: Negotiate authorship early in the process to manage expectations/roles and establish accountability Mentors and institutional leaders to serve as facilitators and active supporters/champions Protected research time for clinicians to engage meaningfully in each phase of team science endeavors Increased start-up time (e.g., for regulatory review) Leadership skills development to bring teams together, maintain focus and enthusiasm, facilitate team identity

Administered March 2011 Distributed to CCTSI members and non- members based at the Anschutz Medical Campus, as well as CCTSI members at affiliated organizations 639 individuals responded Results: CCTSI Needs Assessment Results: CCTSI Needs Assessment

Question: “Please provide any suggestions for education, training, or career development programs that … would support clinical or translational research … at your institution.” Themes that surfaced: Leadership development Teambuilding (e.g., forming interdisciplinary teams) Lab / personnel management training Results: CCTSI Needs Assessment Results: CCTSI Needs Assessment

“Networking, running meetings, time management, management, leadership, running projects, managing staff and budgets. We all do these things every day but most of us have no training in how to do them really well.” “Training on how to develop an efficient research team to conduct moderate to large-size clinical studies would be great.” “Mini-symposia on how to build interdisciplinary teams” “Ongoing development of investigators as leaders of research teams.” Results: CCTSI Needs Assessment Results: CCTSI Needs Assessment

Senior and mid-career faculty and academic administrators 4 two-day sessions over academic year Sponsored by the CCTSI ETCD Core Goal: create and sustain a strong network of colleagues who will mentor / train the next generation of clinical and translational scientists Leadership for Innovative Team Science

Leadership development Teamwork Interpersonal relationships Conflict as a productive, creative force Decision making and task management Meeting management Leadership for Innovative Team Science

The team science approach permitted research teams to: 1.Frame more interesting/robust and clinically- relevant research questions, 2.Discern the most strategic ways to utilize limited resources (e.g., which hypotheses, experiments or patient populations may be most fruitful to pursue), and 3.Apply cutting-edge technologies/methodologies to address existing research questions. Benefits of Team Science Benefits of Team Science

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